Le Forgeron (The Blacksmith)

Label Text It was only in the late years of his life that the French artist Renoir, already honored for his painting, extended his conception of the human figure into sculptural form. ... The late turn to a new medium was particularly remarkable in that Renoir was, at the time, so crippled by arthritis that most of the physical labor of the sculpture had to be performed by assistants. ... In all of these late figures, Renoir's sense of human warmth and vitality carries over from his painting with remarkable freshness. Even the distinctive sense of space and light surrounding the figure is transposed into solid form, by the use of hollow spaces, and a surface of great animation that captures a play of lights and shadows over the contours. Source: Bulletin, February 1965.
Exhibition History"People At Work" Des Moines Art Center, Feb. 1 - May 11, 1997

"Degas, Renoir," Charles E. Slatkin Galleries, N.Y., Nov. 7 - Dec. 6, 1958
Published ReferencesDES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. p.181

DMAC Bulletin, Feb. 1965, ill.

Haesaerts, RENOIR SCULPTEUR, Paris, 1947, pl.XXVII, p.42, no.19

RENOIR, DEGAS - SCULPTURES AND DRAWINGS, Charles E. Slatkin Galleries, N.Y., n.d. (after 1958), ill. pl. no.1

DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER, Feb. 28, 1965, ill.

DimensionsOverall: 10 3/4 × 7 × 10 1/2 in. (27.3 × 17.8 × 26.7 cm)

Accession Number 1964.140

Classificationssculpture

CopyrightPublic Domain

InscriptionsRenoir 1/H c (anatomical left side of base) Founder's stamp: (back of base anat. left) ___________ cire Valsuani Perdue ___________

EditionTwo versions were cast by the artist, first version slightly larger, both versions limited to 20 casts

Provenance(Charles E. Slatkin Galleries, New York); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 1964]